Innate Hatred?

Hazlitt brings up an interesting point in his essay, "The Pleasure of Hating." In it, he breaks down both religion and patriotism as vehicles for hate. I cannot say that I agree with him completely, but I think that there is definitely something to explore here. In my lifetime, I have met many different people, each with their own take on these two subjects. Based on my experiences, I would have to disagree with the blanket statement that religion and patriotism breed hate.

I would first like to discuss the idea of religion and hatred. I have known people of many different faiths. I was raised in a Christian household, and much of my family remains Christian to this day. If hatred was a direct by-product of Christianity, I doubt I would be the person I am today. Growing up, I was taught to value all people, not just those who believed the way I did. There was, of course, the idea that Christians were right and everyone else was wrong, but I would hardly qualify that as hatred.

We also must examine Hazlitt's position on patriotism. Once again, I must go back to my childhood. My father was in the Air Force, and I was raised in a very patriotic household. Does this mean that I was raised to hate other societies, absolutely not. Growing up, I was taught to have an open mind towards people of other cultures. Seriously, would the United States be what it is today if not for the contributions of other countries? I think not. We are a melting pot, and we always have been. If not for the gifts we have been given by people of all cultures, we could not survive.

Considering these things, I would say that hatred comes not from the ideas of religion or patriotism; I think that hatred becomes an issue when people become fanatical in their beliefs. Take for instance the congregation of Westboro Baptist Church. They believe that the bible does not teach love, instead it teaches hate. And they are more than happy to prove it to anyone who will listen. We also have "patriotic American" groups who feel that the United States should wipe other countries off the map. How is this in keeping with the ideas on which the United States was founded. Were our founding fathers wrong when they spoke of man's inalienable rights? I do not think that Jefferson was sitting in his study saying that only people born in the United States were entitled to these rights.

Yes, there are those who take things too far. We see them in the news almost every day. But for the majority of people, hatred is not innate to their belief structure. Though we as a people tend to feel superiority in regards to our beliefs, I do not think that superiority equals hatred.